Fare Thee Well
by sillym3
Summary: Greg bid Riley a farewell and things happen.


**Discaimer** : No copyright infringement intended. Greg and Riley belong to CBS and other entities (If they were mine there would be this episode where Greg went after Riley to a rainforest). The plot is mine though, I'm not sharing

**A/N** : The credits for the improved ending and grammar go to my Sensei. Without her this story would be as dreadful as ready-to-drink instant coffee in a can, or something like that. Oh, and the title is hers too:)

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**Fare Thee Well**

He took the steps two at a time, hurriedly climbing upstairs, slowing down only when he had arrived at a corridor with rows of blue doors on both sides. He stopped breathlessly in front of door 411 and made a move to knock when the door swung open in front of him.

"Relax Greggo, I'm not going anywhere. Not yet." Slipping herself out with a smug smile, Riley fished a key out of her jeans pocket and attempted to lock the door.

"Hey, I'm paying a visit here. You could at least offer me that horrible coffee of yours." Still slightly out of breath, Greg pushed the door open with his foot. He got himself a good glimpse of her small square of a living room scattered with boxes.

"Everything is packed, coffee man. The only thing I left out is my bottle of Ibuprofen." Riley yanked the door closed and locked it with finesse.

Greg shrugged, "I'd love some Ibuprofen."

"I bet you would. Come on, I need to buy more duck tape, I'll buy you that canned coffee you hate." She was already in front of the elevator.

"You said it was broken permanently," Greg said with a nod toward the elevator, recalling his previous visits to the apartment and his many exhausting climbs to this fourth floor.

"Nah, I figured you needed a little workout back then. The stairs did you good; you're in much better shape now." She grinned cheekily and Greg could only groan.

They got out of the building easily, walking side by side in an uncomfortable silence for a while. The night was coming to an end and the streets were deserted, given they were at a less busy corner of Las Vegas.

"You left us short-staffed. I've almost had to pull my second triple in a row and Cath has never been crankier." Greg finally broke the spell.

"This was not the best move to lure me back."

"I'm not luring you back, I'm protesting."

"And that wasn't a protest either; it sounded more like a whine to my ears." Riley rounded the corner and they found themselves in front of a small 24/7 store. They made their way in; passing the half asleep clerk whose glasses were slipping down his nose.

"What is it? The year of people leaving Greg?" Greg leaned on the side of the vending machine while Riley fished out a can of soda. He knew he was whining, but could anyone blame him? It seemed like everybody had hopped on the train and he was left behind to wave goodbye.

"Maybe." Riley shrugged. "But trust me; it's not because of you." She pointed at the row of instant coffee cans but Greg shook his head and motioned for a bottle of mineral water instead. "Some people move on, some people stay. So stop whining."

" Sara, Warrick, Grissom, and now you." He drank half of the bottle's content down while following Riley between the shelves.

"Keep your fingers cross _Whiny_ the Pooh. The next one might be Ecklie." She bent down to pick up the duck tape, observing it for a while before tossing her head aside. Given their proximity, her ponytail brushed against Greg's lips.

Riley smelled like cinnamon and Greg wondered if it would take months for him to forget such smell. Just like it did with Sara's coconut whiff.

"Hey, do you have the wider one, four inches!" Riley shouted at the elderly clerk. "Mr. Tau has a hearing problem. The battery on his BTE must have run out again," she whispered to Greg.

Mr. Tau poked his head out and Riley motioned with the duck tape in her hand. "The four inches ones!"

"I feel like I'm in a jungle here, give it to me." Greg snatched the duck tape and came closer to Mr. Tau. "Do you have the four inches ones?" He asked politely.

"What?" Greg could see every white hair on Mr. Tau's head as he leaned closer.

"This duck tape, we need the four inches ones." Greg also leaned closer.

"Ask him about the tape Greggo, don't try to smooch him!" Riley's giggles could be heard from the far end of the food aisle and Greg could only shake his head.

Greg huffed, pushing himself up by pressing his hands against the counter and tried his luck once again. "Do you have any four-inch sized duck tape?"

"Aaaah, duck tape, wide ones. Wait." The old man turned around and knocked Greg's mineral water bottle in his wake, sending water all over the counter.

"Oh man." Greg tried to set the bottle upright again but ended up knocking the jellybean jar. The sweet treats scattered all over Mr. Tau who was kneeling down to retrieve a box of duck tape.

"Aiya… What a clumsy man." Mr. Tau crouched to pick up the beans as Greg slipped himself behind the counter and kneeled to help him.

"I'm sorry . I'll pay for these." He collected the beans in his palm and stood to put the colorful candies back in the jar, catching a glimpse of Riley's amused grin as she ducked to pick up something.

"Give me the money!"

Greg looked up to a man standing in front of the counter in a green shirt and dirty shorts, holding a gleaming knife dangerously close to his nose.

"Give me your money! Or I'll carve your eyeballs out!" The man, obviously high and definitely stupid, shoved his blue trucker cap against Greg's chest. "Empty that stupid machine!" He shouted punching the cash register.

"If I were in your position right now, I'd just walk away." Greg stated calmly, stealing a glance down at Mr. Tau that was crawling on the floor, busy picking jellybeans. He could not risk the old man's safety.

The mugger took a couple of seconds to digest Greg's words before inching the blade closer. "Don't act smart on me man… The money!"

"You're not wearing any gloves; your fingerprints are all over the counter." Greg stole a glance again, this time to spot Riley who was ducking low beside the liquor shelves. The girl nodded and moved slowly forward. "The PD can and will hunt you to the end of the earth just by using one of those greasy marks you're making." Greg narrowed his gaze nodding toward the man's hand that was pressed against the counter.

Realizing his huge mistake, he lifted his hand off the glass surface. "Shit! Money! Now!"

With the sharp-looking weapon shoved toward his chest then his nose then his chest again, Greg started to feel a little bit uneasy. Riley was still a fair distance away crouching between the shelves. And despite his outwardly clumsy and disordered movement, the man was twice Greg's size.

"You could have used a ski mask too. The surveillance camera is on." Greg pointed at one camera that he knew was a fake. A cheaper excuse for security mostly used to scare kids from stealing candy.

The man was smarter than look in the direction of Greg's finger though. "Money!" He began punching harder at the cash register and thrust the knife at Greg.

Greg jerked his head to one side, dodging the possibility of having a long scar across his face. The man lunged forward with anger but Riley was already behind him, yanking his knife-free hand and twisting it on his back.

"Ouch."

"Yeah man, Ouch." Greg grabbed the man's other hand, slammed it against the counter and the knife fell to the floor. "I also wanted to say that my ex-coworker was behind you and ready to kick your ass."

"Let me go! Aaargh!" Although he was pressed tightly on the counter, the man still had the strength to struggle.

"Come on you weed sucker, give up. We're cops." Riley pushed him forward, tackling the man's feet, causing his legs to buckle. He fell to the floor with a loud thud. "Greg, give me something to tie him up."

Just as Riley finished her sentence Mr. Tau stood with the duck tape in one hand and a handful of jellybeans in another.

"Ah… , welcome back." Greg snatched the tape and tossed it to Riley. "Your four-inch one Ma'am!"

"What happened?" Eyes bouncing from Greg, to Riley, and to the stranger on the floor, Mr. Tau started to panic.

"It's okay , we've handled it!" Riley yelled while taping the man wrists together.

"Yeah, this was just a stupid robbery. Call the police!" Greg raised his voice too, bending down to pick the knife using a shopping bag as a makeshift glove.

"Robbery? Thief!" In such impossible finesse for someone nearing his seventy, Mr. Tau dropped the beans and grabbed something from the counter's drawer. "Get out! Get out!"

"Whoa, careful with that Ruger." Greg rose to see the old man holding a 44 Caliber and hoisted it at the burglar.

"You thief! Get out or I'll call the police!" Mr. Tau swirled and the dangerous end of the gun was pointed at Greg's crotch now.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Greg jumped backward, bagged knife in hand. "Riley do something! Don't let this Grandpa kill me!"

"Whiny." Riley came closer, leaning over the counter to put a hand on Mr. Tau's shoulder. " Mr. Tau, it's me Adams!"

The elder man looked behind. "Adams, they tried to rob me." He stated matter-of-factly.

"No! He tried to rob you!" Riley pointed at the helpless man on the floor. "He's my friend, a cop!" Riley motioned at Greg who was still standing with one hand covering the front of his pants.

"Oh yeah, cop._ Xie Xie. Xie Xie_. Thank you."

Riley just shook her head. "It's better if you just let your daughter watch the store."

"What?" Mr. Tau leaned closer, the gun still in his hands.

"Geez Greg, find him a battery." Riley leaned on one of the posts, popping a purple jellybean in her mouth. "And tell the PD to hurry; I have a flight to New York at ten."

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Seven thirty found the two former co-workers one block outside the store, walking side by side just like they had done hours before.

"See, you're _gonna_ miss this kind of entertainment in your new place." Greg grinned at her. "That was fun eh?"

"Yeah, especially the part when you went all purple under the threat of being castrated by a grandpa and his Ruger." While being interviewed by one of the officers, Riley had let down her ponytail and her hair was swaying from side to side as she walked; a view Greg was sure to appreciate.

"Come on now, it was a 44 for God's sake and the old man's hands were trembling." Greg groaned.

Riley laughed. "So much for duck tape."

"So much for duck tape," Greg parroted. "Need help with the packing?"

"Nah, just two more boxes." Riley stopped and checked her wristwatch; they were already in front of her apartment.

"Come on, I can drive you to the airport?"

"Nope. You'll go all Armageddon on me." Riley shrugged and when she saw Greg's confused look, she smiled. "You know, Ben Affleck, singing Leaving on a Jet Plane to Liv Tyler. I don't want people to think I'm your cheesy lover."

"I like that part of the movie." Greg mumbled and they fell into an uncomfortable silence again. He watched Riley as she wistfully looked up at the sky. A plane was flying above them. And he wondered if he would be the one to move on next time; be the one on the plane heading for a new destination.

"So… Yeah… This is our goodbye then." Greg jammed his hands into his jeans pocket, nervously glancing at Riley.

Riley squinted at him. "Not goodbye Greg. Say until we meet again."

"Until we meet again." A smile rose on Greg's face as he extended his hand, offering her a friendly handshake.

"Until we meet again, Greggo." Riley pulled him into a hug instead.

After an awkward second, Greg returned her hug, inhaling the sweet scented morning air mixed with a hint of cinnamon.

The hug lasted a little bit longer than it should have before Riley wordlessly let go of him and turned around to get into her apartment building. "See ya Greggo." She waved without looking. "Remember, it's never because of you."

Greg smiled and turned around too, leaving with a strange feeling of acceptance he didn't have when he entered the building a couple hours ago. That was when someone bumped into him, knocking him to the ground.

Someone else, sounding like a woman, was screaming behind him.

"Help! My bag! Thief!"

Greg rose to his knee to see Riley pass him by and run after a scruffy man who was totting a huge pink bag. Greg groaned and started his run too. It amused him that there was always crime when he and Riley got together.

"Help! Call the police!" The woman yelled again.

Greg threw a look over his shoulder as he kept on running after the soon-to-be unlucky thief, yelling back. "Don't worry ma'am we're cops! And my friend there, she's fast!"

**End**

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Thank you for reading and please stop by to review.


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